Saturday's Picks

I sit at 20-26 but the time is right to go on a roll. Wyoming +29 at MSU. Spartans flat at start but win 28-7 or 30-10. Big Ten sched starts next week with prime time game against Nebraska. Rutgers -13 hosting Tulane. RU continues to roll in the under the radar games. Tennessee +17 at Georgia. I keep trusting the Vols, much to my detriment. CSU +9 at BC. Hunch. Teams are pretty close in talent. Maryland +4 at IU. Will the real Hoosiers please stand up. UNC +15 at Clemson. I'll pick this game but not watch it. La Tech +33 at Auburn. sure La Tech lost by 32 to OU opening week but everything is timing. they now get Auburn off a disappointing game, which normally would not be good, but one week before LSU. Cincy +17 at OSU. As Buckeyes try to crawl back to respectability, Bearcats have had this game circled for awhile. Let's see what gunner Kiel can do in a big spot. La-Monroe -14 hosting Troy. Not quite Achilles versus Hector as Troy is really bad. Air Force +13 hosting Boise. Odd spread as game should go down the wire. Duke +7 at Miami. Like Blue Devils to win outright. Notre Dame -10 versus Syracuse. Orange will be sky high but cannot stop Irish pass attack.

Big 12 Update

Daxx Garman? The new Oklahoma State QB, who led the Cowboys to a 45-35 win over Texas Tech last night, has had a crazy run at this football stuff. He last played meaningful games in high school in...2009. As a junior. Then he transferred high schools without playing as a senior. He ended up at Arizona anyway, but as a redshirt due to a lengthy depth chart. In 2012 he sat out as a transfer before sitting on the bench last year. And now with injuries he is the starter for a ranked program. There is some lesson there about patience but I do not have the time to figure it out. As for the game, well, neither Oklahoma State nor Texas Tech is going to win the Big 12. The Red Raiders for one have had such a crazy month that their season could really bottom out. Okie State is in a much better place but need to tighten up the defense before a brutal end to the season (at Kansas State, home versus Texas, at Baylor, at OU). Not much else going on this weekend unless the Texas-Kansas game interests you. It is not basketball season, so probably not. The loser of that game could also be in trouble. Baylor does have to play at Iowa State, where it lost two years ago, but since that game they have become one of the best teams in the country. Last season's 71-7 beat down probably left enough bad taste in the mouths of the Cyclones that something bad could happen but an upset is very unlikely. Oklahoma is off before a big road game at TCU next weekend.

ACC Update

Whether the ACC is truly Florida State and a bunch of other teams--as the media seems to spin it--will be played out this fall. In the interim the games have to be played so let's go. North Carolina State, with Florida State transfer QB Jacoby Brissett having already cracked the 1,000 yard mark with 1,005 yards plus a 10-1 TD-INT ratio, is surprisingly 4-0 but that comes with a caveat. Well two. They deserved to lose at least one game earlier this year and they host FSU this weekend. The Wolfpack used to be the occasional thorn in the side of the Seminoles back in the Chuck Amato days but that won't help them now. The Noles are entering a three-game stretch (State, Wake, Syracuse) that will test their focus and while Brissett will be inspired to play well against his former team, the visitors will seek to prove that they are as good as last year. And yes I just wrote about FSU without mentioning their QB. Another undefeated team with an intriguing match-up is Duke, which begins a gauntlet of four conferences road games over their next five contests with a trip to Miami. While the Canes have been underachieving they can get their season straightened out with a win over a team they once owned. The Blue Devils need to begin to claim the Coastal Division as their own and to do so they need to continue to showcase a balanced offense, led by senior QB Anthony Boone, and improve on a weak run defense. The Canes may be hard-pressed to exploit that weakness as poor line play has prevented them from running the ball consistently. But back Duke Johnson, who missed last year's game with an injury, will be looking to break out and the Blue Devils will be hard-pressed to fully contain him. I am looking at the over. A game that was supposed to be intriguing in August, UNC at Clemson is now a survivor game as the loser will be tagged as a disappointment. Another team looking to bounce back after a tough weekend is Syracuse, who draws Notre Dame in New Jersey. An Orange win would be nice for the ACC but the Irish are coming off a bye. Both programs need to make a statement in talent-rich New Jersey.

AAC Update

As conferences slowly move into conference play it is time to bring everyone up to date. The beleaguered American Athletic Conference does have one ranked team in the impressive East Carolina Pirates and one knocking on the door in Cincinnati. The AAC also has a number of opportunities to add big wins this weekend with opponents like Ohio State, Mississippi, TCU, Rutgers and Wisconsin on the slate. Looking for conference play? How does Temple at UConn thrill you? I didn't think so. The AAC is rooting for upsets this weekend and should Cincy go to Columbus and win then a second ranked team should be expected. Good luck.

Tonight's Pick

Well I sit at 19-25. Tonight is a fascinating game for many reasons but the main two are the SEC going on the road, outside the comfort zone against a solid team on a Thursday night. We can also see if KSU has figured out how to slow down an attack like this one. Last year when hosting Baylor and OU they dropped them both by 10. And with Auburn being a cover machine since Gus Malzahn took over I am going with them. Like the under as well as KSU D is not bad and KSU O will do whatever it can to eat clock. Auburn -8 Under 66

College Football Picks

10-15. Ehh. Here goes: UCF +11 at Missouri. Georgia southern +17 at GT West Virginia-Maryland over 60. Wyoming +44 at Oregon. South Carolina +7 hosting Georgia. Arkansas-TT over 67. Arkansas State +15 at Miami. South Alabama +13.5 hosting Miss State. UL Lafayette +28 at Miss. Illinois +13 at Washington. Minnesota +16 at TCU. La-Monroe +31.5 at LSU. Purdue +29 versus ND. Kentucky +19 at florida. Tennessee +21 at OU. UCLA -8 at UT. PSU -3.5 at RU. ASU -15.5 at Colorado. Nevada +18 at Arizona.

Tonight's Pick

I went .500 Saturday, which, of course, is not good enough. I am leaning to Louisiana Tech tonight against North Texas but not by enough to pull the trigger. I will take Houston +18.8 at BYU. I love BYU this year but the spread is an overreaction to BYU's 2-0 start being that they have blown out two programs, Texas and UConn, that are playing horrible football. Houston's loss to UTSA is not shameful as that program is excellent and the Cougars of Houston went toe-to-toe with the Cougars of BYU last year. They will lose tonight but by a lot closer than 18.5. I also like the over 58 in this game.